


Looking for Lost Armor( and Finding Everything Else )

by Ladymissy616



Category: ELEX (Video Game)
Genre: Berserkers-Clerics-Outlaws, Elex Potions, Elexetors living up to their reputations, Eventually Politics slip in, Gen, Magical and Political Realism, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-03-31 15:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13977963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladymissy616/pseuds/Ladymissy616
Summary: Commander Jax is having a bad day - he (supposedly) failed his mission, was executed by his brother, and then his body was thrown off a cliff. To top it off somebody then stole his armor. When he wakes up, he swears vengeance- it only later occurs just how much he will have to achieve to actually reach that goal.And will he ever find his armor?





	1. Surviving Death

**Author's Note:**

> I ,Ladymissy616,own neither the video game Elex, nor anything you might find familiar in my works. The only thing I do own is the ideas -and as this is a fan fiction that too is questionable.
> 
>  

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you fall off a cliff, get robbed, and then wake up again

You wake from blackness with a strange warmth stirring in you blood to see a man, brown of eyes and hair, dressed like an outlaw, standing over you frowning. You open your mouth to say something, anything, yet nothing comes out. The man's frown deepens as he reaches down to touch your armor and you try to move away. Which leads to the sudden realization that there is a bone-deep tiredness prevailing your being. And with this acknowledgment all goes black.

 

  
You wake again, suddenly and without warning, but this time much more aware and with less random frowning people standing over you. Pushing yourself up from the prone position it occurs to you that not only are you still alive after being shot and then subsequently thrown over a cliff but that all your weapons and armor are missing. Luckily it seems whoever took your stuff had the decency to leave your black under-armor on you or the next couple days would be a lot more embarrassing.

  
Before you can muse much more on the subject of stolen items (which were probably taken by that frowning brunette outlaw-they are known for stealing stuff , after all) you notice something much more pressing. The slight chill in your blood, along with the awful hunger that has haunted you for as long as you can remember is absent. The hunger that all Albs feel for Elex is missing from the back corners of your mind where you usually push it. The only idea you can think of is that somehow, someway, the Elex is gone from your system- which is frankly impossible.

  
Tales have been told among the Albs of running out of supplies of Elex in the field and ending up in withdrawal – and they all end in two ways. Either the Alb in question is lucky and regains access to Elex or they end up degenerating into mutants. Or they die, horribly. ( OK, so actually three ways the stories end.) There is no other way and in the long history of the Albs there has never been a survivor who managed to successfully detox from Elex. Except looking at what pale (but not white) skin you can see from under your black hand-wrappings there apparently is a way to survive the detox - one you can't remember but must have unknowingly participated in.

  
What this means for you, you don't yet know- except that without the Elex in your system you have lost access to all your skills,magic, strength and everything else that made you one of the top Commanders of the Albs. Also, soon, if not now,you should start to feel emotions. After all the Free People, the ones who don't use Elex, have emotions and for the moment you are now one of them.

  
This revelation should incite pointless panic and anger in your mind. You should be rendered mindless as you suddenly experience emotions for the first time in memory. And yet as you realize this, you search your mind and sense a bubble of calm. It is like a wall keeping your thinking clear yet outside that barrier you can see/sense a storm of unknown emotions raging.( The most likely contenders being a large dose of panic, fear and anger.) This wall seems to keep your emotions from clouding your judgment, giving you a somewhat clear head , but unlike being on Elex the emotions are still there. Perhaps it is a leftover of lifelong Elex use? You don't know the answer at this time and decide to push the many questions to the back of your mind.

  
Besides you need to focus on the more relevant and pressing questions at this time anyway. Like who,why and how were you shot down- you were on a top secret mission! Nobody should have known anything about what you were doing. Which leads to how your brother,Kallex, knew where you would be- as he appeared less than five minutes after you scrambled out of your downed raider. Along with saying you failed your mission ( which you hadn't even started at the time) these are bigger mysteries than how you survived an impossible detox or why you aren't imitating the Free People in being overrun by your emotions. These are the questions that demand your attention now. Also you need to find your armor – hopefully it will only be an hour or two til that happens.

  
These thoughts chase each other around in your mind and you realize that you will never get your answers just sitting on the ground. Time to get up and moving. Standing you realize you may have a problem with that idea. The bone-deep tiredness that you have been ignoring since you woke up is a whole lot stronger than you thought it was- you can barely move. Limping around like you are even the simplest mutant can one-shot you in the state you are in . This might be a problem....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After playing other games( and liking them) by this publisher, I decided to try Elex on a whim. Two full playthroughs later, I decided that this has become a favorite - even with it's many flaws and unanswered questions. But who knows, maybe writing this will help come up with answers...


	2. This View of the Sky Looks Very Familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you get in a fight, get knocked out (again!), and are escorted to the nearest town (with a few detours between.)

Before, all but the mightiest of creatures would turn a blind eye and ignore you when you walked past them as if hoping that if they made no move to attack you wouldn't decide to wipe them out of existence . In fact, they would even help out if you did get in a fight near them as if to prove that they were friendly and no threat to you and so should be allowed to continue to breath.

Not so now, as the five minute fight with the nearby Runt Biter proved. It was more like a hit and run than a proper fight – no Elex, no viable armor and only a iron bar found on the ground as a weapon equals more dodging than actual fighting. The good news ,however, was after the fight occurred (you victorious and the mutant dead at your feet) a nice amulet was found and promptly donned.

Later, after another “fight” with a rat , you encountered one of your drones lying as a pitiful, dead heap on the ground. Deeming it useless for now, you did hope that while C.R.O.N.Y. U3 was dead, one of the others in your service might have survived. However, that would be a thought for another time as you had a building- what looked like an Old World Observatory- to enter and possibly scavenge for anything remotely useful.

Upon entering the first room in the complex you found an incredibly unique item -a yellow Elex gemstone. It was a well known fact that after the comet had hit Magalan and Elex had arrived that it quickly spread into everything it could. This included all physical matter on the planet both inorganic and organic, including the very air people breathed, all the water on the planet and pretty much anything that was edible. Nevertheless, it was mostly only in organics that visible changes and mutations were observed to happen. This is what made the Elex gemstones so rare- they were once inorganic metals that somehow absorbed enough Elex to mutate. And when put into a setting of some type (usually jewelry,weapons or armor) they granted a incredible effect to the user. Upon further examination, you were a bit disappointed- this gemstone was tiny and to get any viable use out of it, the gem would need to be combined with several others. You decided to keep it anyway- you'd just have to be on the lookout for it's brothers. Time passed, you collected random ( but prospectively salable) junk and after finding your dropped jet pack, found a way out. This way out included a man, dressed in Berserker Warrior armor sitting with his back to you. Him being here so close to you must mean only one thing- even if he looked nothing like the outlaw you remember before, he must be the one who took your armor and equipment. You decide to do the only sensible thing and sneak up behind him.

 

 

You wake with a massive headache and in a very uncomfortable position which feels strangely familiar- like you have recently spent a lot of time lying on the ground admiring the sky. The man, who you will come to learn is named Duras offers you a hand up and begins a conversation.

This is really the first time you have ever had a conversation with one of the Free People (every other time you encountered them you were busy killing them and dead bodies don't really hold great conversations-or at least you haven't heard them say anything interesting.) You think that it would be best to try and show as much emotion as you can muster- after all Albs don't have emotions-so clearly if you display yours there won't be any suspicion that you are the survivor of the crashed raider ( even if you are clearly coming from the same direction.)

At the end of the conversation, agreeing to go with Duras is a given once he mentions the Rotboars that are lining the path up ahead. Standing aside and letting him do all the killing, you feel very thankful as visions of trying to tackle this challenge alone (and failing) dance in your head. Passing a small Cleric camp, you agree to investigate – after all there might be weapons there. And they would certainly be better than the Rusty Axe you picked up off a dead body – one that presumably hadn't been escorted by a friendly Berserker.

Exploring the camp and making a note about its potential future use, you finally make your way to Goliet where Duras offers both a recruitment pitch for the Beserkers and hints at a job he may need help with. He wanders off past the gate leaving you with an irate guard who demands both your identity and boasts about being on the lookout for dangerous Albs escaping from the crashed raider. You assure him that you are not the Alb he is looking for – you don't even look like an Alb! You insist that you are only planning to stay for the night while stocking up before heading out in the next day or two.

As he gives you the go ahead to enter, you glance back and see the nearby teleporter and so instead of entering right away you turn back to check it out. You ruminate over the fascinating facts you know about teleporters as you stand there and let it scan your genetic signature. Teleporters are intriguing bits of Old World technology – they run on something call “electricity” which is made up of lightening or something similar. Because they run on Old World elements and not Elex, they are a loop-hoop in Berserker Law- which is why it is still available for use and not lying broken in The Pit where all other technology is stashed. They are also the reason that the three (or is it four including The Domed City? Five including that strange, hidden village somewhere in the mountains that you've flown over a couple of times?) main cities were formed in their present locations and haven't been moved for centuries. The main thing to know before using a teleporter is that one must touch it and let it scan your genetic makeup, before it becomes available to use. After that it can be used freely and has been by all the Free People for centuries. Funnily enough, over the years there have been very few accidents with teleporters- they are very good at transmitting organic matter over long distances. The few accidents that have been recorded have all happened when someone tries to carry too much extra baggage with them- which is the main reason why trading caravans still roam the broken roads between the settlements.

When the scan has finished, you enter and look around the lovely wooden village of people who can cast fire magic. It is breathtaking with its wooden huts, large trees and rushing stream that you know you will somehow fall into. You decide that to make the money you need, all you have to do is help a couple people who will surely repay you by giving you shards. This shouldn't take very long and soon you will be heading out to track down the thief who took your armor and weapons.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....And if I don't get answers to my many questions,why not make up in explanation? Because really the technology hating Berserkers had a teleporter right outside their gates- and two inside! And don't say the excuse is just so players have fast travel.


	3. Excerpt: The Stolen Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following is an excerpt of a letter from Warlord Cormag to Warlord Ragnar that recently went missing....

Ragnar, Warlord of the Hidden Crows,

...Scouts have brought in a new Alb prisoner today. His squad was encountered near the converter in Edan and ambushed. Casualties one our side: two men killed, three injured. Casualties on theirs: five men killed, one captured. Interrogation will start tomorrow...

…..information from the prisoner reveals that High Commander Jax subordinate to Low Elexetor Kallax was executed under the Directive for failing a top secret mission given directly by The Hybrid. It was rumored that Low Commander Cartex will take his place as Low Elexetor Kallex's new High Commander....

…...information from the prisoner reveals that a new Low Elexetor will be chosen to replace Low Elexetor Zardom after his exile from the Ice Place nine months ago. The prisoner was captured before the Council of Elexetors had finished voting but said that the top contenders were Low Commander Repox subordinate to High Elexetor Parsek or High Commander Lektox subordinate to Low Elexetor Zeroun as the top contender is out of the running due to the death of High Commander Jax.....

…...information from the prisoner reveals that High Commander Tarek is ordering withdrawal of troops from several key regions in Magalan due to orders from The Hybrid.....

…..The prisoner died today from Elex withdrawal-even with our new, experimental procedures of feeding them Mana potions. The feeding of potions seems to postpone the deadly parts of the withdrawal process by several days The addition of the five days gave our interrogator more time to retrieve important information. Thus this shall have to be implemented on all new Alb prisoners...

-Cormag, Warlord of the Hammer Clan

 

**A note is written on the back of the last page:**

Ragnar,

While the four High Elexetors, led by First High Elexetor Tarek, have never changed since they took power with The Hybrid four decades ago, this rapid change in the positions of the three Low Elextors over the past half a decade may hopefully lead to chaos in the ranks of our enemies. Perhaps it is time for another offense on the Albs? The one we performed three years ago when Low Elexetor Etzel was killed and Low Elexetor Kallax took his place succeeded. Even with all their efforts they still have not been able to take back their converter from us. Perchance, the next time you check in with Thorald, you might bring my idea up in the conversation?

-Cormag

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, yes, before any questions are asked:this letter was left lying around next to the throne seemingly for any random person to pick up.


End file.
